Mark Frost
American novelist, screenwriter, and film and television producer (born 1953)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mark Frost (born November 25, 1953) is an American novelist, film and television show maker. He is the co-creator of the mystery television series Twin Peaks (1990–1991, 2017) and was a writer and executive story editor of Hill Street Blues (1982–1985). He also directed the 1992 film Storyville. He has also published novels beginning with The List of Seven (1993) as well as several non-fiction works, including The Greatest Game Ever Played (2002), which was adapted as a 2005 film.
- Novelist
- screenwriter
- film producer
- television producer
- director
Mark Frost | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 25, 1953 Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. |
| Pen name | Eric Bowman[nb 1] |
| Occupation |
|
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Carnegie Mellon University (BFA) |
| Genre |
|
| Subject | American sports history |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Notable works | |
| Spouse | Lynn Frost |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives |
|
| Website | |
| bymarkfrost | |
Early life
Mark Frost was born on November 25, 1953 in Brooklyn, New York City,[2] to Mary Virginia Calhoun and actor Warren Frost. He is the elder brother of actress Lindsay Frost and writer and photographer Scott Frost.[3] During his childhood, Frost was raised in Los Angeles, California[1] and spent his adolescence in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he attended Marshall-University High School.[4] As a high-school student, he spent two years on an internship program studying and working at Minneapolis' Guthrie Theater.[2]
Frost subsequently enrolled in Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, studying acting, directing and playwriting.[1] During his time in college, he worked as a member of the lighting crew on PBS' Mister Rogers' Neighborhood alongside actor Michael Keaton.[4] Frost graduated from CMU in 1975 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.[5] After his graduation, he returned to the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, where he was a literary associate until 1978.[6]
Career
Frost was a writer for the NBC television series Hill Street Blues. He co-created the ABC television series Twin Peaks with David Lynch. The show developed from the initial setup of Lynch having been hired by Warner Bros. to develop a film based on the life of Marilyn Monroe that saw Lynch and Frost write a screenplay. While it didn't lead anywhere, they became good friends and it was Lynch who eventually got an "idea of a small-town thing", before Frost expressed interest in doing "a sort of Dickensian story about multiple lives in a contained area that could sort of go perpetually." First pitched during the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike, the show eventually premiered in 1990. They maintained control of the show for the first season but each had varying control over the second season, in which both later expressed regret at resolving the murder. The show first ended on June 10, 1991; Frost was not involved with the prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992).[7][8][9] They then developed On the Air, which aired from June 20 to July 4, 1992. He co-wrote and directed the film Storyville, co-wrote Fantastic Four (2005) and wrote The Greatest Game Ever Played, based on his 2002 book of the same name.[2]
He has written several books on golf, including The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever, about a 1956 match pitting pros Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson against amateurs Harvie Ward and Ken Venturi, and The Grand Slam, about the 1930 golf season of Bobby Jones. His fictional works include The List of Seven, The Six Messiahs, and The Second Objective.
Frost returned to co-write the third season of Twin Peaks alongside Lynch that aired in 2017.
Personal life
Frost has lived in Ojai, California, since 2011 with his wife Lynn and their son, Travis.[2]
His nephew is Major League Baseball player Lucas Giolito.[10]
Bibliography
Fiction
- The List of Seven (1993)
- The Six Messiahs (1995)
- Before I Wake (1997)[nb 1]
- The Second Objective (2009)
- The Paladin Prophecy (2012)
- The Paladin Prophecy 2: Alliance (2013)
- The Paladin Prophecy 3: Rogue (2015)
- The Secret History of Twin Peaks (2016)
- Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier (2017)
- The Yankee Sphinx (2026)
Non-fiction
- The Greatest Game Ever Played: A True Story (2002)
- The Grand Slam: Bobby Jones, America, and the Story of Golf (2006)
- The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever (2007)
- Game Six: Cincinnati, Boston, and the 1975 World Series (2009)
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Credit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | The Believers | Writer and associate producer | Uncredited cameo: Locker Room Cop |
| Scared Stiff | Co-writer | ||
| No Man's Land | Writer | Uncredited | |
| 1990 | Nightbreed | Writer | Uncredited |
| 1992 | Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me | Executive producer | |
| Storyville | Director and co-writer | ||
| Once Upon a Time | Executive producer | Documentary film | |
| 2005 | Fantastic Four | Co-writer | |
| The Greatest Game Ever Played | Writer and producer | Adaptation of Frost's book of the same name | |
| 2007 | Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer | Co-writer |
Television
| Year | Title | Credit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Lucas Tanner | Writer | |
| Sunshine | Writer | ||
| The Six Million Dollar Man | Writer | 2 episodes | |
| 1982 | Gavilan | Writer | 2 episodes |
| 1982–1985 | Hill Street Blues | Writer, story editor and executive story editor | 28 episodes (as writer) 21 episodes (as story editor) 22 episodes (as executive story editor) |
| 1986 | The Equalizer | Writer | 2 episodes |
| 1990–1991 | Twin Peaks | Co-creator, writer, director and executive producer | 11 episodes (as writer) "Episode 7" (as director) Uncredited cameo appearances: "Pilot" (voice only) and "Episode 8" |
| 1990 | American Chronicles | Creator, writer, director and executive producer | 13 episodes (as writer) Episode: "Farewell to the Flesh" (as director) |
| 1992 | On the Air | Co-creator, writer and executive producer | 2 episodes (as writer) |
| 1998 | The Repair Shop | Creator, writer and executive producer | Unaired pilot |
| Buddy Faro | Creator, writer and executive producer | 11 episodes (as writer) | |
| 1999 | Forbidden Island | Writer and executive producer | Unaired pilot |
| 2000 | The Deadly Look of Love | Co-writer and co-executive producer | Television film |
| 2001 | All Souls | Writer and executive producer | Episode: "Bad Blood" |
| 2017 | Twin Peaks: The Return | Co-creator, co-writer and executive producer | 18 episodes Cameo: "Part 15" |
Accolades
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Twin Peaks | Superior Achievement in a Screenplay (for "Part 8") | Nominated | [11] |
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Storyville | Prix de la Critique Internationale (International Critics Award) | Nominated | [12] |
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Twin Peaks | Best Television Series – Drama | Won | [13] |
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Hill Street Blues | Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (for "Grace Under Pressure") | Nominated | [14] |
| 1990 | Twin Peaks | Outstanding Drama Series | Nominated | [15] |
| Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (for "Pilot") | Nominated | [16] | ||
| 2018 | Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or a Dramatic Special | Nominated | [17] |
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Fantastic Four | Worst Screenplay for a Film Grossing More Than $100 Million | Won | [18] |
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Hill Street Blues | Episodic Drama (for "Grace Under Pressure") | Won | [19] |
| Episodic Drama (for "Death by Kiki") | Nominated | |||
| Episodic Drama (for "Parting Is Such Sweep Sorrow") | Nominated |